


The Color of Water

by doodly_squat



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: MT Prompto Argentum, Parent Cor Leonis, Protective Cor Leonis
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2020-09-07
Packaged: 2021-03-06 16:40:44
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 5,555
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26022067
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/doodly_squat/pseuds/doodly_squat
Summary: A failed unit - that's what N-iP01357 is, and he knows what happens to failed units. Story in which Prompto isn't rescued as an infant but as a young child. An MT Prompto story featuring the slightly reluctant parent Cor. Story rated teen and up for violence and language. I'm doing this story for enjoyment mainly, so I'm not promising a super polished piece.
Comments: 8
Kudos: 112





	1. Decommissioning

N-iP01357 had stood, shivering and wet, after being told to wait until the other units had proceeded out of the showers to the changing area. One other unit was held back with N-iP01357. The units eyed each other knowingly, a sense of failure looming over N-iP01357. 

When the other units had gone, the two units were commanded to move forward. Only two pairs of gray shorts were left in the changing area. There were no sanctioned uniforms. There was no stiff, scratchy nightwear. Only the bare minimum was there – only what was given to those being decommissioned. 

Both units put on their death garb with no protest – even if N-iP01357’s thoughts raced, begging the unit to run, to fight, to plead, N-iP01357 did none of that. 

N-iP01357 had too many failures for this to come as a surprise, and the last failure had been the most significant. The units in N-iP01357’s group had just hit the mark of their eighth year, and, as was done with all unit groups, the Scientists began the most crucial series of injections on the units. By the time units hit their fifteenth year, the injections would reach their height and, in the next three years, the units would become fully fledged MT’s. 

N-iP01357’s body had rejected the first injection though and then the second and third. After each session with the scientists, N-iP01357 would writhe and vomit, as black tar seeped from the unit’s body. It was days of agony, and N-iP01357’s only reward for enduring the pain and regaining any semblance of health was another trip back to the scientists for another injection. 

It was never ending. The pain was too much, and, during N-iP01357’s last visit to the lab, the unit broke free and ran. 

There had been no plan on where to go. There was no notion that escape was even possible. N-iP01357 simply wanted to delay the pain – if even for a short while. 

The unit’s capture had been swift, but N-iP01357 had not been brought back to the lab. No, the unit was brought to a holding cell and kept there for three days. After that, N-iP01357 had been brought to the showers, and now the unit marched down the hall, heading for the decommissioning lab. 

N-iP01357 had heard other units tell stories of the decommissioning lab. Unit body parts were kept in jars in the cabinets. Sometimes, according to the units who’d cleaned the lab, Scientists would dissect a unit when it was still breathing – poking and prodding at organs while the unit, strapped to the table, stared at the ceiling. 

N-iP01357 wanted to believe it was false information. The unit wanted a swift decommissioning. No, what N-iP01357 really wanted was to not be decommissioned.

The other unit that had been held back with N-iP01357 was marching down the hall just ahead of N-iP01357. There was a steady tremor in the other unit’s limbs, and N-iP01357 wondered if that unit had the same bubble of discomfort gnawing at the unit’s insides. 

This was the same discomfort N-iP01357 felt when enclosed in the darkened pods for rest periods, or when the Commanders were screaming, red-faced with anger at a poor performance, or when the Scientists were going to cut into N-iP01357’s flesh for more modifications. The unit didn’t understand the discomfort, but sometimes it made the unit’s limb’s shake and eyes leak. It was probably a malfunction – just another reason N-iP01357 was being decommissioned. 

The group of guards and two units neared the end of the hall and went through the large double doors for the decommissioning lab. 

N-iP01357 was momentarily blinded by the bright lights of the lab. There was a brief sound, a stunted yell, and it took N-iP01357 a moment to realize the other unit was being manhandled onto a table and strapped down. N-iP01357 retreated a single step and then hands, with a tight hold, lifted N-iP01357 onto a table and strapped N-iP01357 down as well.

Heart hammering, N-iP01357’s eyes started to leak and breathing became so difficult. 

“Please…” the other unit whimpered. “…don’t…please…please…please….”

The pleading trailed off. Silenced by whatever one of the Scientists injected into the unit’s arm. Eyes glazed, mouth moving, slowly forming soundless words, the unit stared vacantly up at the ceiling. 

“Ugh, I hate it when they do that,” another Scientist said, “Creeps me the fuck out – like they are really human or something. Might as well start with this unit as it’s already out cold.”

There was a hum of agreement from one of the other Scientists, though N-iP01357 couldn’t tell which it had been. They all looked the same with their pale blue scrubs and face masks. 

“Both these units rejected the injections right? Let’s get some blood samples and look for any organ anomalies.”

N-iP01357 tried to tune out the Scientists. The unit tried not to look over at the other table. N-iP01357 tried not to, but…but…

From what N-iP01357 could see, there was so much blood and thick flaps of skin pulled back and flopped haphazardly over. N-iP01357 stared, that familiar discomfort in his gut swelling, and then it noticed the other unit’s chest slowly rise and fall. This wasn’t a fast decommissioning. N-iP01357 caught a glimpse of the other unit’s face – of the unit’s wide eyes staring upward, leaking profusely. 

Something broke inside of N-iP01357. Thrashing and screaming, N-iP01357 couldn’t hold back any longer. N-iP01357 couldn’t hold quiet – couldn’t wait patiently for its decommissioning. It couldn’t wait to be slowly taken apart – to be in pain once again. 

“What the hell – someone shut him up!”

N-iP01357 continued to struggle. It didn’t matter if the fight was pointless. The straps were too secure. It would never escape, and yet…

Screaming, nearly frothing at the mouth, N-iP01357 didn’t realize the chaos that ensued until the unit heard the first gunshot. By the second gunshot, N-iP01357 stilled. 

Two of the Scientist lay dead, splayed awkwardly on the ground in growing puddles of crimson. 

Dressed all in black, two men rushed the room with guns raised. Three more gunshots followed as the overhead alarms started to blare. The last three Scientists fell. N-iP01357 watched them. The scene felt like it was playing out in slow motion. 

One of the men in black hurried over to the unit lying open on the other table. “What the actual fuck?! What were they doing to these kids? Shit, he’s still alive. Cor, this kid is still fucking alive. What do we do? Shit!”

The other man, Cor, quickly hurried to the table and seemed to assess the dying unit. He let out a huff of breath and then started to poke through the instruments the Scientist had laid out. After a moment, he seemed to find what he was looking for and brought a syringe over to the other unit. The injection was fast, the other unit didn’t even seem to feel it at all. N-iP01357 thought that would be the end of the men’s interest in the unit, but the man, Cor, wasn’t done. 

He kneeled next to the unit, took the unit’s hand in his and started to stroke his other hand through the unit’s short, blond hair. 

“It’s going to be okay now, alright? No one will hurt you anymore.”

Alarms blared overhead, light flashed and there were shouts that echoed through the halls, but still the man kneeled and waited. He stayed like that for the few moments it took for the unit’s chest to stop moving, for his eyes to gloss completely over. 

“We’ve got to go. If we don’t get this information out of here, no one will know what kind of horrific shit Niflheim is up to…Cor…we’ve got to…”

Cor stood. He gave his companion a grim nod, something that seemed to indicate he was well aware of their predicament, and then he started walking over to N-iP01357.

Vaguely, N-iP01357 wondered if the man, Cor, would decommission it as well. That might not be so bad if Cor did it the same as he had with the other unit. That wouldn’t be a bad way to be decommissioned. The thought remained fuzzy in N-iP01357’s head, and it took the unit a moment too long to realize that Cor was undoing its straps and hefting it into his arms. 

Cor was warm, and he made N-iP01357 feel so small. No one had ever held N-iP01357 like that. N-iP01357 had never felt so much warmth before from a human. Units weren’t supposed to be treated like this. Maybe Cor didn’t know that. Maybe Cor would stop holding N-iP01357 once he knew. 

It didn’t matter though. All that mattered was that Cor was holding N-iP01357 now. All that mattered was the warmth and being off the table, and not being dissected while it stared up at the ceiling. N-iP01357 shivered at that thought. 

“Okay, so…” Cor’s companion chimed in. “…we are taking the kid – cool? I approve, really, but let’s get the hell out of here, like ASAP. If they do shit like this to their kids, I can only imagine what they would do to us.”

“Yeah,” Cor murmured as he adjusted his grip on N-iP01357. “Let’s go"


	2. In the Cold

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Here's bit more. It could probably use a tad more editing, but I'm just going for it for now.

Everything was confusing. N-iP01357 could not even be sure that it still wasn’t going to be decommissioned. Maybe Cor would still do that, and what was Cor even? Was the man a Commander? Possibly. Cor certainly didn’t look like a Scientist. Maybe he was a Guard? No, Cor was too authoritative for that – he seemed to be making the decisions and not following orders. 

And, why had Cor and the other man killed the Scientists? Did the Empire want them dead? N-iP01357 didn’t think that was correct. The Scientists were held in high regard. Even the Commanders bowed their authority to the Scientists for the sake of advancement with the units.

Was Cor…an enemy of the Empire? Was N-iP01357 being taken prisoner? Would they dissect N-iP01357 later? Would the unit be strapped to another table while enemy Scientists poked at its organs?

Holding tight to Cor, N-iP01357 stared up at the man’s face. Sweat beaded on Cor’s forehead and upper lip. It was strenuous, this pace of running the two men had taken up as they scrambled through the facility. Where were they even going? Was it hard for Cor to keep carrying the unit? Should N-iP01357 offer to run too? Should N-iP01357 try to escape from Cor? 

Questions filled N-iP01357, but the unit couldn’t find any answers. There was just too much unknown.

Glancing around, the unit realized this was a section of the facility it had never seen. This was somewhere it was commanded not to come. This was the way to _outside_. 

That uncomfortable twisting returned to the unit’s stomach. This was wrong. It shouldn’t be there. N-iP01357 could feel droplets running down its face, leaking from its eyes. 

A noise crept from N-iP01357 then; it was something weak and wounded sounding. The unit quickly tensed, willing the sound to halt, but Cor must have heard.

“Hey, it’ll be okay. We’re almost out – almost in the clear.”

Cor’s voice…it was…soft, and N-iP01357 thought it would be beneficial to hear again. It made the unit less tense. It made the unit think maybe Cor wasn’t an enemy.

And then there was blinding brightness and bitter cold. 

This cold stung in a way N-iP01357 had never experienced before. It caught the breath from the unit’s lungs and sent pinpricks of pain over its exposed flesh. Closing its eyes, N-iP01357 pressed as closely as it could to Cor – to the warmth.

There was a persistent, whistling howl that drown out the blare of alarms behind them. 

N-iP01357 knew Cor was talking, but the words were lost. The noise and cold overtook the unit, and all it could focus on was trying to leach away just a bit of warmth from Cor. 

Suddenly, the bright white of the outside lessened, and N-iP01357 dared to open its eyes. It appeared Cor had found one of the maintenance garages. N-iP01357 had never been here, but it knew that vehicles were stored in such areas outside the main facility. 

Cor grabbed a stiff, woolen blanket, stained with oil and then started to shift N-iP01357 in his hold. N-iP01357 gave a yelp – grasping for the warmth of Cor, but the unit stilled as it realized its error. Units obeyed. A unit did not fight its Commander.

Was Cor its Commander? It didn’t think so, but it needed someone to obey. What if Cor was the enemy? What would happen to N-iP01357 for obeying the enemy? It probably couldn’t be any worse than decommissioning, the unit thought. 

As quickly as he was set down, N-iP01357 was cocooned in the woolen blanket and taken back into Cor’s arms. 

“Berg, you got some supplies wrangled?” Cor shouted. N-iP01357 could hear him well enough, but he could see hardly anything through the thick folds of the blanket.

“Yeah, these two snowmobiles here are geared up. Just got to live through a frickin’ blizzard now. If the Niffs don’t kill us, this storm sure as hell might.”

Cor was moving then, striding toward the other voice.

“Yeah, it will either kill us or save our asses. Might just be the cover we need to get the hell out of here.” Cor shifted, his weight tilting and then N-iP01357 felt the sensation of dropping that was halted suddenly. “Hang on, kid, this is going to get bumpy. Just keep still and try not to freeze.”

N-iP01357 blinked. Those were orders. It could follow those, for the most part. It wasn’t sure how to keep from _‘freezing,’_ but it knew how to hang on and keep still. 

The thunderous roar of a snowmobile engine started, and N-iP01357 flinched. Another started after that, somewhere behind Cor and the unit, and then they started to move.

N-iP01357 did as was commanded. It held on and stayed as still as it could. The motions of their travel were jarring. Sometimes gunfire or explosions sounded, and other times there was only that steady whistle that reminded N-iP01357 of the cold all around. Still wrapped in the blanket and not willing to move at all, the unit could see none of what was happening around it. 

Muscles aching with tension, N-iP01357 held tight. The unit’s whole body ached, but it wouldn’t give up. This command was important. It knew that. It wanted to obey Cor’s command to the fullest.

Eventually, the gunfire and explosions ceased, but still they traveled on and on. The blanket had helped for a while, but the cold slowly started to burrow back into N-iP01357. Cor’s warmth even seemed, somehow, less than it had been. 

Everything faded away except for the angry cold and the steady thrum of the snowmobile engine. N-iP01357 knew it needed to rest soon. It was functioning at a suboptimal level, and it would only deteriorate from there, but it couldn’t. It had its orders. 

Time was undefined. There weren’t any chimes to tell the unit it was time to eat or sleep, or train or….anything. Everything was a blur of cold and aching.

Then, the thrum of the engine stopped, and, for as much as the unit tried, N-iP01357 could not lift its head to see what was around. Joints aching, muscles seemingly locked with tension, the unit waited to see what would happen next. 

Cor was moving – lifting off the snowmobile. The exertion of the task had the man grunting. N-iP01357 was lifted with Cor’s movements, but the unit continued to try and stay as still in the man’s hold as possible. 

A stumbling walk took them forward. There was a dull creak that sounded like an unmaintained hinge, and then the sound of boot falls on solid floor. 

N-iP01357 was lowered, set on something stiff but with a slight give. The blanket around the unit’s face was pulled back, and Cor was there staring down at it.

“How you doing, kid?” 

N-iP01357 shivered and blinked, unsure of what answer was required. It almost corrected Cor – as it was not a kid. The new laboratory assistances at the facility had often made the same mistake when they first started. N-iP01357 was not a kid – a young human. It was a unit. It had heard the Scientists give this speech to the assistances on multiple occasions. 

What if Cor only rescued it because he thought it was a human? Would Cor leave it if he knew N-iP01357 was a unit? Would Cor decommission it?

The unit decided not to correct Cor, not yet. It didn’t want to be decommissioned. N-iP01357 looked up and realized Cor was still waiting for an answer.

The unit wouldn’t correct Cor, but it could report its status. It opened its mouth, but couldn’t force any sound out. It was in suboptimal condition, but it really didn’t want to state that. What if Cor decided to leave it behind? It didn’t want Cor to leave it.

The wait for the response must have been too long, because Cor finally spoke again. 

“It’s okay.” He was moving then, heading toward the lone door N-iP01357 could see. “Just wait there. I’ll be right back.”

N-iP01357 watched Cor leave. It wanted Cor to stay. A new hollow ache settled into the unit’s core. It wasn’t sure what it was that was causing it discomfort. Maybe the unit’s organs had gotten injured? Maybe this was just another malfunction?

N-iP01357 glanced around, taking note of the worn, unmaintained room. A sheen of dust, like that kicked up in the training yards, coated everything. Warped wood, dark with age made up the walls. N-iP01357 was sitting on a bed that was stripped down to the bare, stained mattress. Broken and slanted, a table lay in one corner, and in another corner sat one lone chair and a large, dark metal something – maybe it was an engine of some sort? Next to it sat a pile of wood and branches. 

It was a room, but one in great disrepair, and one that was very cold. 

The unit flinched as the door flew open, bringing a new sting of chill with it. Cor stepped in quickly, slamming the door shut, with some difficultly, once he was back in the room. He had a bag with him that he quickly dropped to the floor.

“Blizzard has gotten bad. We’ll have to stay here to ride it out.”

N-iP01357 frowned. Cor wasn’t looking at the unit, and he wasn’t acting as if a response was needed – which the unit was relieved to see. 

What is a ‘Blizzard,’ and how does one ‘ride it out?’ N-iP01357 wondered. 

Cor shook some white material from his clothes before turning to look at N-iP01357.

“You hurt, kid?”

This question did seem to need a response. Cor was waiting again. N-iP01357 knew that _‘hurt’_ meant injured or damaged. N-iP01357 shook its head. It was not damaged. It was running at suboptimal levels, but that would be corrected once it deactivated for some time.

“Can I look you over to be sure? Need to check your fingers and toes for frostbite.”

N-iP01357 obeyed, springing from the blanket to stand at attention. It tried not to shiver too much, but the room was cold and it only had the gray shorts covering it.

“Shit, kid – I, I didn’t mean you had to get up. It’s colder than Shiva’s ti… Shit…I probably shouldn’t say shit like that around you, huh?”

N-iP01357 held still. It didn’t know the response for that question. It didn’t really understand a lot of what Cor had just said.

“What is that?” Cor asked, pointing to N-iP01357's sustenance port, but before the unit could answer, Cor pointed to the unit’s chest port. “And that. Are there more?”

As Cor moved to look at the unit’s back, N-iP01357 managed to answer. It had not wanted to tell Cor it was a unit, but it had forgotten that the evidence was all over its body. A kid would not have ports. It knew that the Scientists would not make upgrade to kids – they only upgraded units.

“This one,” N-iP01357 said, pointing to the port on its stomach. “…is the sustenance port. The chest port and spinal port are not yet active and were only installed last week. An upgrade was scheduled to occur in two weeks to replace the heart muscle with a more efficient mechanism, and, in a month, the head implants were to be started that would link to the spinal port.” The unit paused, wrapping its arms around its stomach, covering the sustenance port. “This unit is not a kid.”

Cor frowned, and then stepped forward, scooped up the blanket and wrapped it back around the unit, and then he picked the unit up and lowered N-iP01357 back onto the bed. For a moment Cor just stared at him, as if he was thinking something over.

It was hard not to squirm under Cor’s gaze, but the unit held as still as it could. Finally, the man spoke again.

Cor’s voice was firm when he spoke. “You are a kid, okay? You hear what I’m saying?” Cor paused, but N-iP01357 didn’t know if it should answer. It had heard, but it hadn’t understood. It was not a kid.

“Shit, kid…” Cor muttered. “What the hell were those Niff scientists doing?”

N-iP01357 stared at Cor for a moment, gauging if the question required an answer. Humans were strange in the fact that not all questions required answers. Finally, the unit decided it did need a response. “The Scientists were making the most efficient units possible. The upgrades made units more efficient and being more efficient meant the units would make the greatest MTs when completed.” 

“They were…all the kids…they have been using kids to make MTs?” Cor’s expression was hard for the unit to understand. It looked angry and hurt all at once. Had Cor been injured?

“The Scientists were using _units_ to create MTs – not kids.” N-iP01357 replied. It still did not understand how Cor was so confused over this simple designation. 

Cor let out a deep sign. “You’re not a unit. You’re a kid, okay? Shit…you are a kid…”

N-iP01357 shrugged. It was an answer that would have been unacceptable to any of the Commanders at the facility, but the unit didn’t know how else to response. Finally, when the two sat there in silence for a few more moments, N-iP01357 dared to find its voice. 

“This unit doesn’t know what _shit_ is,” it admitted softly.

N-iP01357 braced for the response. It was ready for anger or for Cor to tell it how stupid it was, but Cor only let out another huff of a sigh. 

N-iP01357 bowed his head, staring down at its lap. It had disappointed Cor. It was sure of that. It should have known what _‘shit’_ was.

“It’s a bad word, kid,” Cor replied softly, “You shouldn’t say it, and so I shouldn’t say it around you, okay? And, so you know, shit is another word for poop, but don’t say shit. Say poop or poo, or something like that.”

The unit frowned. Cor hadn’t gotten upset for it not knowing _‘shit,’_ would he get upset for the unit asking a question? 

“What is poop?” N-iP01357 asked, its voice so low the words could barely be heard.

One of Cor’s eyebrows arched at that. “Seriously, kid? Don’t you shit…I mean poop?”

Again the unit shrugged. It didn’t know. Maybe it didn’t shit or poop. It needed some definition of the word. 

Cor was staring at the unit again. N-iP01357 thought maybe the man looked angry again.

“After you get… _sustenance_ ,” Cor had faltered at the word, a grimace appearing on his face as he said it, “… and your body gets the nutrients from that, there is waste that your body doesn’t need…”

 _Oh!_ N-iP01357 knew that. “Defecation – when the waste is expelled – that is poop or shit?” It asked.

Cor nodded. “Yeah, kid, defecation is another word for that.”

“Yes, this unit defecates and urinates. No upgrades have been made to the evacuation system yet. That happens when units reach level three.”

“Oh, okay…” Cor sounded odd, like he was processing the answer, but somehow…maybe…relieved that the unit could still defecate. 

N-iP01357 thought that was an unusual reaction. It had heard most of the Scientists express disgust at the level 1 and level 2 units still needing to urinate and defecate. Why was Cor not disgusted? 

“Do you…um…need to do that now?” 

“No, this unit is empty. It has missed the last couple sustenance times. Units being decommissioned do not get sustenance. It is a waste of sustenance and creates more of a mess for the Scientists during dissection.” 

The room went quiet then, and N-iP01357 glanced up to find Cor, face pale, mouth open, just staring back at it. That horrible twisty feeling started back up in the unit’s gut. It must have answered incorrectly. Cor just looked so…so…wrong. 

Cor looked like he was going to speak again, but, instead, he turned away and started to pull items out of the bag. Then, he began to do something with the large iron thing that looked like an engine. Cor put some wood in it and then, he broke a vial over the pile of wood in the iron thing and there were flames. 

N-iP01357 knew flames from the training exercises. Flames made horrible wounds to flesh, but it also produced heat. Cor was making heat for the room! N-iP01357 wanted that so much. It was relieved that Cor was so smart. The heat would make the room better. It would help N-iP01357 operate better.

Cor shut the little door to the iron thing, hiding the flames from view, and then he stood and came over to the bed. He remained quiet and sat next to the unit and motioned for N-iP01357’s hand. Without hesitation, the unit raised the hand and let Cor start to examine its fingers. It wasn't sure what _frostbite_ was, but Cor seemed determined to check for it.

N-iP01357 wanted to say something to make up for its mistakes earlier. It wanted to make it so Cor wasn’t mad, but it didn’t know what to say or do. It really didn’t know what it had said that had made Cor angry. 

There was something the unit realized, and the question seemed to gnaw at it until it could stand it no longer.

“Where is the other man?” N-iP01357 asked.

Cor had already looked over both the unit’s hands and was now looking over its toes.

“He didn’t make it.” Cor answered, not even looking up from his examination. 

N-iP01357 thought the answer over for a moment. It wondered what exactly had happened to the man. It would have been so much better if they were all together. It would be better if the man hadn’t died. 

“Was it…” the unit’s voice waivered, and it realized its eyes were leaking again. It rubbed the wetness away but more came. “Was it quick?” It finally managed to ask. “It’s better if it’s quick.”

At that, Cor looked up. His eyes were wet too. Nothing was leaking down his face yet, but there was certainly excess wetness in his eyes. The unit stared, startled by the fact human’s eyes could leak as well. It had never seen that before.

“Yeah,” Cor replied softly. “It was quick.” Then he tucked the unit’s feet back under the blanket and moved closer to N-iP01357.

The unit tensed, preparing for a correction or for Cor to yell, but, instead, the man wrapped his arms around the unit and pulled him close to his chest. 

N-iP01357 remained tense at first. It was strange being restrained like that, but it wasn’t painful or wrong. It was warm and the unit felt safe. It could hear the beating of Cor’s heart and feel the man’s chest gentle rise and fall with each breath he took. 

“The Scientists, back at the lab, were not being quick,” N-iP01357 whispered. It could still see the image of the other unit being dissected on the table next to it. It wished that imagine would disappear, but it just kept coming back. “It is better when it is quick.” 

Cor gave a soft hum that sounded like an agreement, and he started to gently rub the unit’s back. It was not bad. It was good. The room was getting warm and Cor was holding the unit. They were not in the Facility any longer. This was better. 

The unit could feel itself powering down. Its eyelids felt so heavy. As it shut them, it remembered a phrase the Scientists would say to each other sometimes. They said it when one of them did something the other saw as beneficial. 

“Thank you,” N-iP01357 mumbled. It hoped that was the right thing to say, but it couldn’t be sure as it closed its eyes and powered down before Cor replied. 

***************************

Cor stared down at the kid asleep in his arms. 

The kid looked like he was six or seven, but he might have just been small for his age. He’d obviously not been fed properly. While he had some muscle to him, he was still way too lean. 

He looked peaceful when he was sleeping – unlike the anxious thing he was when awake. Those large violet eyes were always wary, always watching. The kid didn’t flinch a lot, but he braced himself like someone looking to take a hit. That made Cor’s stomach roll. He tried to keep his movements slow around the kid, but there were certainly times when he looked like he expected Cor to lay into him.

Gently, Cor managed to peel the kid off of him and lay him down on the cot. Joints aching, Cor tried to stifle his groans as he stood up and made his way to the satchel he’d pried off the snowmobile. There were a few packets of oatmeal and a canister of water. He’d seen a dusty pot in one of the corners of the cabin. It wouldn’t be the best meal ever, but it was something. He decided to hold off on cooking though. Maybe he’d let the kid sleep for a few hours before waking him up to eat. The kid was probably starving at this point. Cor wondered how long ago it was since the kid’s last meal. He’d said he’d missed some of the sustenance times, but what did that mean? A day? Multiple days?

Cor had seen a lot of messed up shit in his day, but this was a whole new level. He thought back to the facility. There had been a room of tiny test tubes filled with embryos, and a room with infants in small pods floating in hazy clear goo. Berg had tried to figure out how to open one of the pods, but no matter what they did, it wouldn’t budge. Cor can still picture those faces, each identical to the next, some sleeping, some with bright blue eyes staring up at the two men. They were bald and chubby, but Cor wondered if they all would have had blond hair like the kid with him now.

The men had seen the training grounds from a distance as well. They didn’t dare get closer, as there at least a dozen soldiers watching over the kids there. There were groups of kids there, obviously all different ages, and, in each age group, the children all looked identical. That alone wasn’t the most upsetting aspect of the groups of children though. No, it was the fact that the older kids all had vibrant red eyes. Whatever that meant, Cor knew it wasn’t good. He had to wonder if that was why the kid with him had such a strange purple eye color. 

By the time Berg and Cor had found an unlocked office with files, Cor already assumed that the Niffs were doing some messed up shit with cloning, but it was nice to find some evidence. It was too bad all their evidence had been blown up with Berg and his snowmobile during their escape though. Well, almost all the evidence. Cor still had the kid. 

Cor set the oatmeal aside for later and dusted off the lone wooden chair he found in the corner. After standing it upright beside the bed, Cor sat down. Outside, the wind howled. Cor could feel a few drafts coming in from the various weak points in the hunter’s cabin, but there was little he could do about that in their current situation. They wouldn’t be staying terribly long. As soon as they storm let up, they would have to keep moving. There was probably still a quarter of a tank of gas in the snowmobile. When that ran out, they’d be walking. Well, Cor would be walking. He sure as hell wasn’t going to let the kid stumble around in the snow barefoot. 

It’d be slow going carrying the kid, but there really wasn’t any other choice. 

“Shit,” Cor muttered, “Regis, what the hell kind of mission did you send me on?”


End file.
